Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 652: Banquet with the Gods

Minhyuk, who promised to share the rewards of the hunt with those that fought together with him, broke out in cold sweat after hearing what the grinning Alexander said.

“I thought you’d feel uncomfortable if we did not accept your offer. Ah. It’s not that we want to take it from you.”

‘No… Then, you don’t have to take it…’

“Hahahaha! As expected of Minhyuk, you have a heart that’s as big as the ocean!”

‘No, it’s narrow…’

That was right. Minhyuk had actually been trying to console them with words. Still, even if he was thinking that way, Minhyuk actually did not hate how the situation panned out. After all, they all fought beside him and deserved to receive those rewards. Alexander and the God-class players began to choose various items from the rewards list that Minhyuk read out loud to them.

‘You haven’t told us the most important ones yet.’

That was right. Alexander, as everyone’s representative, had declared that they would only take half of the rewards and share it amongst themselves. They divided gold, reinforcement stones, miscellaneous items, and legendary artifacts among themselves.

However, Alexander had left the best and most important rewards untouched. Of course, the other players also did the same. As for Minhyuk, he did not mention the Corrupted Goddess’ Ring and the Corrupted God’s Mysterious Bundle. Minhyuk looked at them with a small smile on his face, as he could feel their consideration towards him.

Minhyuk and the rest looked at each other as they waited for the Battlefield of the Gods to end.

“Food God, can I add you as a friend?”

“Ah. Of course.”

“Me too!”

“Me too!”

“By any chance, do you still have an empty seat in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?”

“Minhyuk, please add me as a friend too!”

At this moment, the God-class players and the antagonists realized why Minhyuk became Athenae’s best ranker. It even made them want to be close to him. The notification for friend requests kept on ringing in Minhyuk’s ears. In the future, if Minhyuk and the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom were ever in danger, not all of them might come but some would definitely run to help. Simply put, Minhyuk had gained connections with these God-class players, something money could never buy.

This heartwarming scene continued to unfold, while the final announcements rang out.

[You will be sent out of the Battlefield of the Gods soon.]

[The rewards for the Battlefield of the Gods will be sent at 12:00 noon the next day. We, at Joy Co. Ltd., acknowledge our inadequacy in this event and will be providing additional rewards to those that have participated.]

[The victor will be announced at the same time tomorrow.]

“Thank you.”

“Fighting beside you has been an honor.”

The God-class players and the antagonists said their farewells to Minhyuk and told him that they would see each other next time.

At the same time, the commentators continued their banter.

[Food God Minhyuk has obtained something that even money can’t buy.]

[Adding these people as friends is something that all of the ordinary players dream of. And Minhyuk has received a lot of this today.]

[Perhaps some of them would knock on the doors of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.]

Even the viewers had things to say amongst themselves.

[This is very heartwarming.]

[It’s thanks to Minhyuk that our idols have regained their energy once again, no?]

[I won’t be able to forget the Battlefield of the Gods for a very long time.]

It was a very touching story.

Griiiiiin—

Minhyuk, who was logging out, was sporting a very devilish grin.

.

That evening.

Haze had heard about how Minhyuk shared half of the rewards that he earned in the Battlefield of the Gods. Minhyuk then told Haze, “Haze, I probably have to leave again to find a way to awaken Obren.”

“…”

Haze was Beyond the Heavens’ prime minister. She completely understood Minhyuk’s thoughts, perhaps more than any other person. However, she could not understand why Minhyuk did it this time.

The finances of Beyond the Heavens were not much. In fact, they did not even have any excess to give other people the rewards that they had earned. On top of that, Minhyuk even had to leave Beyond the Heavens for a while. It would take a lot of money to fill his absence. And since the profits that they would gain through him would be cut off while he was away, the losses that they would incur might possibly shake the Beyond the Heavens’ foundations.

“Your Majesty, I truly cannot understand. I’m sorry but I’m going to have to say something really harsh this time. Why did you have to share your rewards with them? Of course, I understand that maintaining close relations with them is very important, however you did not need to do that at all.”

At her words, Minhyuk tilted his head in confusion, “Haze, what exactly are you talking about? Since when did I give half of the rewards that I obtained to them? I only gave them 5% of the rewards that I received.”

“…What?” Haze looked at Minhyuk in confusion.

‘What did he mean by 5%?’

“You’re not telling me that you only gave them 5% of what you got, right?” Haze asked, her eyes spinning.

However, Minhyuk just nodded and took a huge bag out of his inventory, before handing it over to Haze. Haze immediately opened the bag and checked the contents. It was filled to the brim with platinum coins that were shining brightly.

“…!”

Using her skills as a prime minister, she quickly checked the amount inside the bag.

[543,782 platinum.]

“…?!”

Haze felt her breath stagnate. Even someone at her position could safely say that she had never seen such a huge sum of money in her entire life.

“H, how… can you have this much money?”

“I’m not yet done though.”

At the same time, various artifacts poured out from Minhyuk’s inventory. There were plenty of legendary rank artifacts and legendary grade materials that poured out.

“…”

Haze licked her dry lips. There were around 324 legendary rank artifacts.

‘Where in the world did His Majesty get them? Wait, don’t tell me…’

“Are you going to leave for good?”

Haze was aware that the words ‘closing the game’ that the foreigners said meant that they were leaving Athenae. Was it because Minhyuk received a huge shock from the incident earlier?

However, Minhyuk shook his head, a devilish smirk plastered on his face, “Haze, do you still not know what kind of person I am?”

“…”

Haze pondered deeply over his words. No, that was not it. Minhyuk was not the kind of person that would recklessly give things away. It was the reason why he became the king of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

“But Your Majesty, didn’t you fulfill the King’s Oath? The rewards that you received from killing the Corrupted God…”

“That’s right. I shared the rewards that I received from the Corrupted God. But you see, how about the rewards for killing the other Gods that the Corrupted God has summoned?”

Clack—

Haze finally realized. She had also heard about what happened in the Battlefield of the Gods. The Corrupted God had led several of the corrupted, the fallen and the crazy Gods. During the battle, the Corrupted God had summoned around twenty other Gods.

What had happened to those twenty Gods? Obren, who possessed Minhyuk’s body back then, made their heads explode one after the other. Then, who would receive their rewards? The EXP? The titles? It was of course Minhyuk who received it.

That was right. Thanks to Obren hunting those Gods, Minhyuk was able to level up 33 times today. The corrupted and fallen Gods were weaker than ordinary Gods, which meant that the rewards from killing them would also be inferior. However, there were twenty of those Gods.

In other words, the reason why Minhyuk graciously shared the rewards that he got from the Corrupted God was because he had already gained an enormous amount of funds and artifacts. He just did not say anything to them on purpose, which made Minhyuk look generous back then.

“Fufufufufufufufufu!”

“Hohohohohohohoho!”

“Hahahahahahahaha!”

“Ohohohohohoho!”

Haze said, “I would believe it if you told me that you’re the God of Swindlers. Haha! You really look like a swindler right now, Your Majesty!”

“Hahahaha! That’s a compliment, right?!”

“Hohohohoho! Of course, of course!”

Just like that, the bond between the king and his vassal grew even stronger. It was a very beautiful night.

***

What would one get from being a True God in Athenae? There were two representative things. The first one was the temple, while the second was the power of a true God. One would be able to have their own temple constructed and have people that believed in him and followed him. It was the coolest thing in the world to some people.

Minhyuk was also looking forward to it, waiting for midnight to come in excitement. Finally, at midnight, various notifications rang.

[The rewards for the Battlefield of the Gods will be given based on your contribution.]

[You have participated with your qualifications as a God!]

[You have gained 43,873,551,311 EXP!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have gained 34,316 platinum.]

[You have completely overwhelmed and defeated your enemies in the Battlefield of the Gods. You were also the biggest contributor in the second Battlefield of the Gods, in killing a being that was almost impossible to defeat!]

[All of your stats have increased by +20!]

[You have acquired the Title: The One that has Climbed to a True God’]

[You have proven your qualifications as a True God!]

[For the first time, the player, Food God, has reached the True God class!]

[All of your stats have increased significantly!]

[Once you come back after the Banquet with the Gods, you will be able to acquire one of the True God Food God’s skills!]

It did not mean that one would become super strong once they became a God. If one became a God, then they would be able to open a new path and enjoy new contents. The first such content was none other than the Banquet with the Gods.

Not long after, an explanation rang in his ears.

[Banquet with the Gods.]

[Whenever a new Continental God or a new God is born to the world, the Gods would gather together and enjoy a banquet!]

[Please declare your position as a God there!]

[Something special might happen if you increase your favor with them!]

Minhyuk turned into light and disappeared from sight.

***

The Banquet with the Gods was a place where the great, arrogant Gods gathered. Unfortunately, the Absolute Gods and God of Origin Athenae never participated in this banquet. It was up to them if they wanted to attend or not.

These Gods usually divided themselves between the Gods with the original blood of the Gods, and Gods that were human, and Continental Gods. Many of these Gods valued bloodline very highly, ignoring the Continental Gods and taking their position for granted.

It had been a very long time since a Continental God appeared in the world. However, what would happen if one showed up? Well, they would be forced to face the Gods that hated their existence.

Crackle—

The Gods’ representative figure was God of Fire Ardees. His position among the Gods was actually very low and transparent. He could not create anything special like the non-combat Gods, nor did he have a powerful force like the combat Gods. He was literally someone weak and easily overlooked. However, he was always bullying the rookies. He was the kind of God that was strong against the weak and weak against the strong.

Whenever Ardees moved in the Banquet with the Gods, a flame that was not hot would float along with him. God of Fire Ardees had long played the role of the God that trampled the Continental Gods, acting on behalf of all the Gods.

None of the Gods stopped him since they also wanted to see such a play. After all, these grinning Gods were all just pretending to be elegant on the outside. On the inside, they were all vicious and nasty. On top of that, there were Gods up above them that were looking after Ardees, that was why he was proud and arrogant. It was especially so this time.

‘A God that likes to eat?’

It seemed like they were going to be presented with a situation where they would be able to laugh to their heart’s content! Unlike the God of Blacksmiths that was good at making weapons, or the God of Buffs that could give special powers to others, what could the God that liked to eat do? What in the world was that God's ability? Were his believers all obese? After decades of no new God being born, a funny one had suddenly appeared.

Among these Gods, only a few of them had seen how Food God Minhyuk fought in battle. It was because they were not really as free as what others thought. Not knowing the depth of his opponent’s power, Ardees intended to bash the new guy’s head and turn him into the banquet’s object of ridicule and mockery.

‘We have to put him in his place from the very beginning.’

A God that liked to eat would definitely be very weak. Besides, the only God that God of Fire Ardees was afraid of was the Sword God. Although the Sword God was a Continental God, he was so powerful that even the ordinary Gods were afraid of him. On the contrary, for that God that liked to eat, Ardees could already imagine how he became a True God.

“Hiyaaaaaa… I can tell why the Banquet with the Gods is called the banquet with the Gods.”

Then, at that moment, a man’s voice rang in their ears. The man was smacking his lips and gulping at the sight of the delicacies that even the Gods present did not even touch. Then, the man smiled happily as he happily filled his plate with food.

Ardees instantly knew who the man was. He was fully convinced of the man’s identity. After all, he was a face that he had never seen before. There was also the fact that he was acting crude in front of food. He also had little divine power in his body. Ardees watched as the man sat in one place, looked at his plate in admiration and started devouring his food.

The man also greeted the Gods that came near him, “Hello! Hello. Nice to meet you.”

‘A polite and courteous God? What a funny thing to be. Actually, isn’t it only natural for humans like him to crawl and bow like that since he is in the presence of Gods?’

Under the expecting gazes of everyone present, Ardees stood up and approached the man. He looked at the pathetic and pitiful Continental God’s plate, then Ardees slapped the plate that the man was eating from, its contents spilling on the ground below.

Clang—

Just like that, the plate fell down and the food contained within rolled around on the ground.

Now, Ardees.

Ardees had predicted what would happen next in his head. The man in front of him would crouch on the ground and pick up the plate and clean up the food himself. Once that happened, Ardees would crush the man’s hands with his feet and show everyone how terrified and pathetic the man was.

Shake, shake, shake—

Just as Ardees expected, the man’s body began to shake. The man shivered as he looked down on the food that had rolled on the ground.

‘Ah. This is a really funny situation.’

A petty and pathetic human was shaking in front of the Gods!

Ardees sneered and said, “How dare a mere savage Continental God like you participate in the Banquet with the Gods and tarnish…”

Baaaaaaaaang—

To be exact, Ardees tried to speak, but before he could even finish, the fist of the God that loved to eat made contact with his face, causing Ardees to fly away from the strong impact.

Then, the man said, “This f*cking bastard.”

“…”

“…”

The man definitely just called a God a f*cking bastard.